Noname washed up first, needing time to scrub gunk out of her hair. It was so bad, Samantha had to join her to help. After the two girls cleaned up, John washed up. Upstream of him, Daniel drank as John told him about the safe harbor features.

“So you’re telling me this wasn’t here before?” Daniel asked, amazed.

“Nope,” John said. “How’d you guys managed without a safe harbor last night?”

“We didn’t manage anything,” Daniel said. “We were so tuckered out from running all over we collapsed. Felt really down, too. I think I gave up. But the morning came, and we were left untouched.”

“Huh,” John said, considering some of what Xanhilt had mentioned about the robbery occurring at night. The saurian found it strange that anyone would go out of their way to venture when it was dark… unless they knew something others didn’t.

“Penny for your thoughts, mister?” Daniel asked.

“John,” he replied. “Not a mister or sir. And I’m thinking if going through the forest at night is better.”

“There ain’t no way. It’s pitch black. Pure darkness. And these magicky light orbs can only shine so far,” Daniel said. “I won’t ever claim as someone scared of the dark, but when you got monsters out and about, that’s a good time if any to be a day-timer.”

John wanted to say that they got brighter if you added MCP to them since Noname had done. But Daniel had a point when it came to facing monsters in the dark. That was just way too scary of a situation. John wanted to make sure he could see what he was going to punch.

“Well, that’s not what we’re going to do,” John said, climbing out of the stream. “We got all day to make it to where we need to go. And whatever gets in the way is going to regret it.”

Daniel gaped at him. “You are all sorts of confident.”

John gave him a small smile. “Man, you have no idea the bullshit I’ve gone through.”

“I oughta ask what you mean by that, but I think I’ll reserve the right to stay ignorant.”

John chuckled.

***

Having Daniel around became an immediate benefit when he offered to carry their loot bags. The treasure trunk had a sack lining the bottom under the actual loot. Then the sack Xanhilt carried came from the [Mauling Shambler] at the tower fight. While John and Noname air-dried, Xanhilt ensured their loot was tied adequately to Daniel’s rope belt.

Then Xanhilt passed out pouches holding magic stones to each member of this impromptu party. Daniel and Samantha got poor magic stones since it would serve them more effectively, while John, Noname, and Xanhilt got the good magic stones that had been picked off of the flayed servants. It wasn’t much, especially since the Dimitri guy had run off with pouches filled with the good stuff, but John was confident they would make do.

After some further talks, John learned of Daniel and Samantha’s powers. Daniel had a blessing that summoned a helpful scarecrow that killed monsters that got too close. His main magic core turned his skin into rock. Samantha’s blessing located anything valuable in the area around her and how to get to it, which helped her discover the loot system when she had no idea that was a thing. Her magic core summoned a spectral hand that could grab small items from a distance.

“My magic seems to fit me especially well,” Samantha said.

“There’s some rhyme and reason to this madness,” Daniel added.

“Yeah, it does seem like that, but let me ask you this,” John started, “Do you know what a ratel is?”

They blinked at him.

“A ratel? Like a fancy rat?” Daniel asked.

Samantha shrugged.

“Give it up,” Noname said, bopping John lightly on the arm. “And accept you’re a wild animal with no origin.”

“Someone has to know what a ratel is,” John said.

“If they do, I’ll make sure they don’t tell you.”

“Why?”

“Because why not,” Noname said, leaving it at that. It was almost as if she took pleasure in his ignorance. It was almost as if she…

“You know, don’t you?” John asked through gritted teeth.

“Hey, Xanxan, are we ready to go?” Noname asked, ignoring John.

“Let me just eat this last meal,” Xanhilt said. “Twice now, I’ve found myself starving after a day of fighting. I hope we can avoid such a fate going forward… and it’s Xanhilt.”

“What is a ratel, Noname?” John asked, unable to let this point go.

“I hope you don’t ever starve again,” Noname said, going over to the saurian to pat him on the back.

John glared after her.

Samantha leaned over to Daniel. “I don’t know if Dolala’s words are true that we’re safe here with them, but they are a very lively bunch from what I can see.”

“I like ‘em,” Daniel said with a big grin.

Sometime later, John let go of the mysteries surrounding his ratel magic core and found himself facing the safe harbor’s edge. Now that they were on the verge of going out again, he was feeling hesitant. A lot happened⁠—gosh, he’d nearly died a couple of times⁠—and it hadn’t been a whole week yet. It was too much for him to think about deeply at the moment.

Looking back provided a nonstop reel of situations that saw him through multiple horrors and thrills. He couldn’t help but wonder if he could put himself through more. But the [Inner Compass] was pointing him toward a specific direction. Despite his and Xanhilt’s doubts about what the gods had in store for them, the compass gave John hope for reaching something worthwhile.

“Anyone got a list of things we got to accomplish?” John asked lightly, delaying the inevitable. He looked back at everyone who stood waiting behind him.

“Make Victor and his party pay,” Xanhilt hissed. “And find ways to disrupt the manipulations of the gods.”

“Get back our stuff,” Noname added. “And find me a cool weapon art.”

“Make it to wherever the compass is pointing to us,” Daniel said.

“In safety! Please, let us make it in safety,” Samantha fretted.

John nodded. Each request was valid, although some had more importance than others. He wondered if he had anything else he could add to the list. But he wasn’t sure. He was starting to reach a point where he wanted a goal-post. Something to aim for that was bigger than facing one horror than the next. Even if he found that Victor guy, smacked him and his people around, and got back their stuff, what would be next?

If this is really my second life, what do you do with it? John asked. Why did I get called to be a hero? If being a hero was fighting undead monsters every day, then that seemed like a miserable existence that would drive most people to want to return to death. Screw the second life. Yet, John did find some enjoyment. The moments where he bested a horrific challenge sang to him, and having some reliable people to fight at his side was pretty cool.

It was fucked up. People were dying.

But part of it was kind of… fun.

“Hey,” Noname said.

Flinching, John realized he had been standing silently for a while with everyone watching him. He probably seemed out of his head.

“Don’t overthink it,” Noname said.

John blinked at her. Then he flashed her a smile⁠—the one that tended to catch attention.

Noname looked away from him, her wet single-braid whipping behind her. “Let us know when you’re ready.”

“Yeah, just give me a moment,” John said, still smiling. “Gotta decide on my next WA Skill.”

He pulled up the selections he had, including the ones he passed on and the two new ones. His focus went toward the one he had been thinking about after nearly dying to the frayed shamblers when they’d ganged up on him.

[Hard Defense, Rank 1] - - Fuse a sliver of mana with your stamina and tense up your muscles. Your toughness will double, becoming more capable of turning away or reducing the damage of physical and slightly magical attacks. Your ability to move will be halved, however.

After having a few too many near-death experiences, who wouldn’t want to add more defense to their game. But John was hesitant in choosing it because it didn’t sit right with him. If he gave in to fear, he would be a little more confident the next time he got mobbed. But did that make him effective overall? He already had decent resilience… which wasn’t saying much since the only people could compare to were Xanhilt and Noname, so wouldn’t adding more defense be overkill?

It’ll help if I ever get caught in a pinch.

But it would stray with the type of build he’d genuinely go for. Something that could close the gap and dish out a heavy amount of damage. Something that had faced the knight while a hairbreadth away from death to hit them with something righteous. Taking his foot off the pedal in an arms race to destroy monsters could save him, yeah, but it could cost him the thing that mattered most. Overwhelming victory. Passing this up again was going to gnaw at him. At least until he proved his point in the next fight that would rear its ugly head sooner or later.

“Sorry, guys,” John said to everyone. “Making some tough choices here. I’m ignoring defense for more offense?”

“Why wouldn’t you want to defend yourself more?” Samantha asked.

“Killing faster is a great defense,” Noname answered.

Nodding, John pulled up his two new options.

[Concussive Strike, Rank 2] - draw mana into your fist for a split second, then strike with your mana-charged hand to deliver a powerful pop at the end. This strike can bypass some obstacles, armor, and resilience.

[Mana Missile Punch, Rank 2] - charge your knuckles with mana and punch at your target, shooting a projectile of condensed force from your knuckles. The attack will replicate half of the damage that you can produce from a normal punch.

Two mana-based options that were both useful in different situations. It made John wonder if he could stack any of them with [Rapid Blows], but he had his doubts. He had a hard time using [Dash Step] and [Rabid Blows] together, and he realized he was better off using them depending on the situation. But he could very much stack these on top of [Ratel Rookie], the magic core becoming more integral to him.

After some thought, John decided he would select the option that synergized with his current moveset. While he did wish to have more safety, he didn’t want to sacrifice offensive power. While he could probably add a few more tricks to his toolset, he wanted to concentrate on what felt right with him. The skill he wanted had to follow the philosophy that was being testest and retested with each engagement. More firepower leading to greater success.

John chose [Concussive Punch], although he might keep an eye out for [Mana Missile Punch] the next go around. It was safe to assume he’d get the opportunity to pick it again when Cestus Art reached Lvl 30, which wasn’t far away. Though, that depended on if the weapon art didn’t have other options to throw at him that was even more enticing.

“Okay, I’m good,” John said, stepping forward. The shimmering barrier collapsed. Unbarred, the mist rolled forward and swallowed his party. In no time, the basin behind them became a little more cloudy even with the sun out. Then they were in the gloom of the forest where scant sunbeams shone.

Everyone’s [Brightlight Orbs] went up, casting light on the shadows and fingers of curling mists. It was spooky as hell. For a moment, it made John’s skin crawl as he led the way forward, barely able to see even with his [Brightlight Orb] leading the way ahead. Xanhilt walked beside him. Noname fell to the back beside Samantha.

“What did you end up choosing?” the saurian asked.

“More firepower,” John answered.

Xanhilt hummed.

“Hey, are you doing alright?” John asked.

“I’m not,” he said.

“We’ll find a way to get through this,” John said reassuringly. “I don’t know how, but we’re on a decent streak here.”

“There are too many unanswered mysteries,” Xanhilt said. “Worst of all, John, is the mystery surrounding me.”

John raised an eyebrow. The saurian didn’t speak any further. He seemed to be deep in thought lately. John had many thoughts himself, but staying inside that inner world for too long could drive him crazy. It didn’t help that he felt like he was walking from one problem to another without knowing what he was supposed to achieve here. Maybe that was the worst part. Not knowing the purpose behind it all.

“Maybe there’s a big bad guy,” John said. “And if we punch that big bad guy hard enough and make him go down, we’ll end it all.”

“Or maybe we’re a part of the gods’ fun. We’re just toys for their amusement,” Xanhilt responded.

“You really got a thing against religious stuff, huh?” John asked.

“There’s a certain group of saurian carnivores that preach all herbivores and herbivore sympathizes should be made like cattle or slaves. That it is the divine right of carnivores to stand above all others and subjugate them, and everyone who aren’t carnivores should find their subjugation a sacred honor.”

“Whoa.”

“It is disturbing that it is backed by carnivores… and herbivores who’ve been manipulated into devaluing themselves. So, I have a hard time giving anything that claims itself divine benefit of the doubt. And our experiences here haven’t provided me a counter to my current beliefs that religion and gods are inherently evil.”

John shivered, feeling the intensity of Xanhilt’s claims emanating from his words. He didn’t have anything to add or say. He came from a religious family, but John often found himself adrift because religion didn’t always make sense. He did believe there was something greater than himself, but what that thing was, and how to get there, well… he really couldn’t put a picture together when his entire world view had tilted with him appearing in a different Universe with stats and magic.

“Hey, John,” Noname called from the back.

He had to subdue his smile before he turned to say something back. It was hard to tell at first, but that dry tone of Noname was starting to lighten up lately.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“Ready for some action?”

John’s heart pulsed faster.

“I’m counting about ten trailing us,” Noname said, her eyes closed while she had a grip on Samantha’s hand. “I can see them through the [Limited Clairvoyance] I planted behind us.”

They were coming up to a bend around a hill with a sharp drop. It stood out in the mist. Looking up at it, John wondered if they could use it to their advance when he saw something shift on top of the hill.

John pointed it out toward Xanhilt.

“Preparing to strike from above, too?” The saurian quirked his head. “This is proving to be far too intelligent. Is it the monsters themselves? Or something else?”

Further ahead of the trail they were following, a loud thump sounded. A familiar groan reverberated. It was too far forward for any light sources to shine on, which effectively hid it in the mist.

Daniel pulled out his stone club while his knees wobbled like two sticks in the wind. Samantha latched onto his back, her whole body shaking just as hard as the farmer boy’s legs.

John wasn’t a strategist, but he could see they were getting pinned from three sides. To his right was waist-high vegetation and some matured trees they could have Daniel and Samantha get behind. They could also avoid the oncoming conflict by fleeing⁠—

“Nah,” John said to himself. “Xanhilt, up high. Keep a bead that way. Noname, backside. Make them regret attacking our backdoor. Sam, Dan, behind those trees. And I got the front.”

The words came out of him with a confidence that was new to him. He almost sounded like his dad. The old man used to work a chef job in a high-speed restaurant, running it like a military unit. John remembered watching him from the corner as he ordered everyone around with efficiency.

John cricked his neck. His nerves grew taut for a moment until he took a deep breath and relaxed. He concentrated on the airflow and how it made him feel cool from the top of his head to his toes. He imagined it circling through his body, carrying a message that told every part of him everything was going to be okay. It was going to be fun.

John smiled.

The action kicked off.

***

Five minutes later, a host of shamblers laid dead at their feet.

Blood dripped down John’s body due to him mauling a [Mauling Shambler, Lvl 20] that had tried to gorilla its way through him. John had circled around it easily enough, planted a [Concussive Punch] that stunned it, and transformed into his ratel self for the finish. [Rapid Blows] plus his ratel claws carved through the monster’s spine until it fell backward in half.

As that happened, Xanhilt had busied himself with two dozen [Forest Shamblers] that were around Lvl 11. They’d stumbled off the cliff edge above and had come crashing down near John. They would’ve been a nuisance for him if the saurian hadn’t popped each in the head with a clinical application of [Gale Stream]. One short blast for each saw their skulls flying away in splinters.

“Where’s Noname?” John asked after Xanhilt finished off the last low-level shambler.

Something stumbled up the path they had come from. It was tall and slim. It reached out toward them, making John raise his fists and Xanhilt his palm. Then a sharp thunk sounded, and the [Jesting Shambler, Lvl 17] fell dead in front of them. A [Rusty Butcher’s Knife] stuck out of its back.

Moments later, Noname walked up while covered in blood. She gripped a pain-inducing necromantic blade in each hand as if they were mere toys. Then she dropped them. She left them sticking in the dirt. She still refused to choose the knife as her weapon art, it seemed.

John looked at the girl with no name up and down. “Did you teach them not to play with knives?”

“I tried, but they didn’t want to listen,” she said, glancing at John’s mess.

“Oh, don’t worry about this guy. He had a back problem. I worked out the kinks for him.”

Noname nodded before looking at Xanhilt’s mess.

Eyebrows rising, Xanhilt glanced between them. “Is this your human sarcasm? Am I supposed to say something? What do I say?”

“You need to teach him better, John,” Noname scolded.

“I know, I know. But he’s figuring things out still. He’ll get there eventually,” John said, keeping the seemingly serious act going. It was as if he and Noname were two parents trying to teach their saurian son how to fight and say witty lines.

It was kind of weird. One hundred percent improv. But fun.

Daniel and Samantha crept out of cover behind a tree off to the side. The farm boy was pale as a white sheet. Samantha looked at John, Xanhilt, and Noname as if they were a bunch of devils.

“Daniel,” she murmured, gripping his arm. “I think we’ve partied up with monsters.”

“Hey now, Samantha.” He held her in return. “At least they’re on our side.”